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West Bend, Daily News
A big L.E.A.P. forward in recovery
Faith-based sober living home readied for opening
By DAVE RANK
Daily News
Two local women plan to open the
first phase of their
leap of faith in
March.
Melissa Twitty,
West Bend, and
Rochelle Renzaglia,
Hartford, formed
the L.E.A.P. Recovery Foundation in
September. On Jan. 30, they
are scheduled to close on
the purchase of a three-bedroom house on West Bend’s
east side that will be the
first sober living home in
the county for women
recovering from addiction.
It will offer faith-based
programming, both women
said.
Twitty, L.E.A.P. Recovery’s executive director, and
Renzaglia, president, are
members of the Washington County Heroin Task
Force, which was formed
last year.
Ronna Corliss is chairwoman of the Washington
County Heroin Task Force.
“We do support the concept of a sober living house
for women in Washington
County,” she said. “The
need has been identified in the county
by the Heroin Task
Force.”
Corliss also is
county prevention
coordinator at Elevate Inc., Jackson,
which works on
reducing
behavioral health issues
and other high-risk
Twitty behavior.
Both the task
force and Elevate will work
with L.E.A.P. Recovery, she
said.
Until now, women had to
go to Casa Claire in Appleton or Beacon House in
Fond du Lac to find sober
living housing, Twitty said.
Exodus House in Kewaskum offers both treatment
services and sober living
housing for men.
“We’re going to be the
bridge between rehabilitation and their return to the
community,” Twitty said.
“They had talked about
the idea of doing this for
about a year,” Corliss said of
Twitty
and
Renzaglia.
“Melissa Twitty was an
intern here (at Elevate) for
a while.”
“This isn’t going to just
be a place for them to hang
ing addict and is
out,”
Renzaglia
working on becomsaid. A house
ing a certified alcomanager
will
hol and other drug
oversee
the
abuse counselor.
clients, Renzaglia
Both Twitty and
said, and they will
Renzaglia, a regishave opportunitered nurse, have
ties to continue
seen the devastation
their schooling,
caused by substance
seek employment,
and attend 12-step
abuse among friends
meetings. There
and relatives, Twitty
Renzaglia said.
will be drug testing, she said.
“I’m the mother
Because of their actions, of
a
heroin
addict,”
many addicts “have burned Renzaglia said.
bridges” with family and
“I lost my best friend to
friends, Twitty said. “They addiction,” Twitty said.
really have nowhere else to “She’s not dead, but she’s
go.”
out of my life because of
“We’ll call it LEAP her addiction.”
House of West Bend to keep
“It’s no secret there is a
it simple,” Renzaglia said. huge drug problem all
The friends plan to develop over,” Twitty said. “I’m sick
another one in West Bend, of reading about all the
Hartford and Jackson.
deaths from heroin every
“L.E.A.P. stands for love, day.”
expectation, accountability
Every month, 44 people
and patience,” Twitty said. die from heroin overdoses
She is nearing completion in Wisconsin, Renzaglia
of her criminal justice said.
degree at Moraine Park
“Right now, only 10 perTechnical College.
cent of heroin addicts are
Tiffany
Langenecker, successful in their recovHustisford, is the communi- ery,” she said.
ty support advocate for
“We’re trying to do someL.E.A.P. Recovery. A former thing positive in the comHartford
resident, munity on the war against
Langenecker is a recover- addiction,” Twitty said.
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